General Chat

When I took mine you still did hand signals. I kind of thought I might have failed my second when I had one hand waving about outside and the other changing gear.

Third test I knew I had failed so just enjoyed the drive round.Passed that time.

Sharron.... :-0 :-D :-D

Jude, so nice to see you back.
Take Care

Julia in Derbyshire

It was the bit after I passed my test that I found particularly hairy. Out alone I just knew I was probably doing something wrong but didn't know what.

I thought that,if the police stopped me I would just apologize and tell them I was very new to driving.

Forty odd years on I am still not sure I am doing it right but I do seem to get away with it.

When I took my test, I had been working for a forklift firm, so the steering/ gearchanging bit was not too bad............bearing in mind a forklift steers from the rear!!

Me, first on a motorbike second on my car test.
My wife was first time on car and as I recall had two or three fails on her motorbike test. On her last attempt she rode out of the test centre and after a few hundred yards the bike spluttered to a halt, she had forgotten to turn the petrol tap on!
At that point she thought “Oh blow it” (or something like that, maybe a trifle stronger!) and convinced she had failed forgot her nerves and pottered around without worrying, as you can guess she passed with flying colours!
Good luck for next time!
Mayfield

Vera, I know some practice would help my son but as I only use o.h.'s car, I can't put son on insurance. It's such a shame.

I am hoping he will soon find a job and can then start having regular lessons.

Lizx

Oh my goodness thats a shame Liz. So he's paying how much now about £30 for an hours practice in effect. I'm sure he knows what he has to do.
May be that could go towards insurance instead if thats an option.

If his nerves get too much, his GP may help out but caution is needed on this. in order to get to the poiint where you are sufficiently relaxed but not too much so.

I sympathise. I'm only telling you this - I actually bolted before one of those 8 attempts.

Vera

I passed on test number 5! I think nerves got the better of me each time. I passed in a manual car but after a few years changed to automatic.

My Daughter passed her theory 1st time and her driving test 6th time. The Instructor could not understand why she kept failing and it was on different things each time. After test number 4 she took it at a different test centre and failed because she did 34 in a 30 mile zone. The last test was taken again at a different centre, she was put on a standby list if anyone else dropped out. This teast centre was not local to us, she didnt know the route and.... she passed :-D

She was mega excited and on the verge of hysteria. The examiner said he had never seen anyone quite so excited. Daughter told him it was her 6th test and what happened elsewhere. When he asked where she took the first 4 tests he said...Ah...... and that was all !!!!
A lot of her friends from School and College also failed at this particular place where she had failed and as soon as they went to other test centers they passed. Maybe somewhere less familiar my be helpful next time Mathew but keep trying its soooo worth it in the end.

Teresa

Vera, it's over a year since he failed the second attempt and then his theory test ran out so he has to do that again first before taking more lessons. At the mo he doesn't have the money so it's all having to wait til he finds a job, I can't afford to help him any more sadly. Wish I could have a decent lottery or premium bond win to help him get his licence but no luck again this week.

My son is very anti drugs, even prescribed ones, so doubt he would take anything - when he took the test the second time he had a few refresher lessons and got a cancellation so he was within the theory test timing, but unfortunately he was also working overtime as well so was very tired. Bad timing all round and cost him over £100 just for that try. He has asked the Job Centre if they could help him with a loan for the lessons to widen his scope of jobs to go for if he has a licence but they keep saying no, not at the mo, keep asking us tho...... as if they expect the rules to change or something.

You must have been nervous to bolt before one test lol Glad you got there in the end, you must have been so pleased, did you kiss the examiner lol?

Lizx

Liz

I sat my test with every examiner at the Beford centre and I never blamed them. I knew all the routes and passed with the head examiner on the easier of the routes. Think they were glad to get rid of me. Strangely enough I am not a nervous driver but I could just not get past those tests.

I hope your son gets the break he needs to help him move on as it gets to be a vicious circle of retakes and refresher lessons. But as you say its all down to money. Its not fair is it? Fingers crossed for that lottery win.

Regards

Vera

I don't drive, never have driven.

OH took his test in Chester back in the '50s, when he was 16 or 17

He got a woman (!) examiner the first time, and failed.

A few weeks later he was contacted by the centre, and was asked to take the test again. This time it was the Chief Examiner .......... and he passed.

Later, his parents heard that the woman had been fired ............. she had never passed a young man on his first test!! Someone had finally complained, and all recent failures had been contacted and re-tested.




sylvia

It was twice on the car and (I think) first on the motorcycle.

The car failure was down to the fact that the driving school turned up to the test with a different car to the one I'd been learning on.

That was many years ago and probably approaching a million miles in a car and a couple of hundred thousand miles on a motorbike ago.